General Topics

This workshop looks at “Big Ideas” as the framework for interdisciplinary teaching. This approach simplifies what can be a confusing process of integrating subject areas, while simultaneously offering a deep, rich, conceptual orientation. Not only is integration more accessible in this way, but we are more readily able to avoid the superficial topical integration that is frustrating to teachers and students alike.

What does it mean to be smart? How do we support all of our students in ways that bring out their best, most “intelligent” work? This workshop addresses the understanding of Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, or the “ways we are smart,” and how this theory might be utilized in the classroom setting to reach all learners. We will explore the definition of intelligence and how schools do and do not cultivate intelligence in students. We’ll delve into ways to set-up your classroom and lesson plans to address curricular objectives through a variety of intelligences, as well as ways to assess varied indicators of student understanding. This is an experiential workshop that gives teachers the tools to make this theory part of their working classroom.

Thematic study offers many advantages to the student and teacher.  This workshop will focus on the inclusion of the arts in thematic study, providing structures that will allow students to engage in this means of expressing their understanding, while providing the teacher the mechanisms to assess and structure those experiences, regardless of the teacher’s area of expertise.

Curriculum Mapping is the process of reviewing our mandated curriculum to create a calendar-based picture of what ACTUALLY goes on in our classrooms.  It allows us to see and make connections among concepts and skills, locate overlaps and gaps in curriculum, and benefit from opportunities for integrating various disciplines.  This is a major undertaking for a school, but can serve in monitoring problem areas, and shaping the curriculum that the individual student experiences as she/he moves through school.  Through strong maps, we can communicate what we do more clearly to others, and more consciously plan for school improvement.